ANDREW BONE: Alabama prospects shine at Rivals Camp Series

Monday

Mar 17, 2014 at 6:00 PMMar 17, 2014 at 6:52 PM

The Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour had stops this past weekend in Hattiesburg, Miss., and Birmingham. Many of the state's elite players in the classes of 2015, 2016 and even 2017 participated in the events.

By Andrew BoneSenior Recruiting Analyst

The Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour had stops this past weekend in Hattiesburg, Miss., and Birmingham. Many of the state's elite players in the classes of 2015, 2016 and even 2017 participated in the events.

The first camp in Hattiesburg saw a few players from the state of Alabama walk away with the day's top awards. Joshua Williams, offensive guard from Vigor, earned the offensive line MVP. Darius Whitfield, class of 2016 from St. Paul's, won defensive lineman MVP. Williams is still seeking his first offer. Whitfield has a few early offers including Florida State, Louisville, Ole Miss and South Carolina. He is the younger brother of Alabama 2014 signee, Josh Casher.

Desherrius Flowers, Rivals100 running back and Alabama commitment from Vigor, also competed in the camp. The 6-foot, 212-pound athlete committed to the Tide last spring. He remains firm with his commitment, but reveled his plans to visit Auburn and LSU.Dylan Moses, 2017 running back and LSU commitment from University School in Baton Rouge, La., was the only player in Hattiesburg to earn an invite to the Rivals Five-Star Challenge in Baltimore this summer.

The stars aligned Sunday for the camp at Hoover with several of the nation's elite prospects in attendance including: Daron Payne, five-star defensive tackle from Shades Valley, Kerryon Johnson, Rivals100 running back from Madison Academy High School, Tyler Carr, Rivals100 offensive tackle from Southside High and Lester Cotton, four-star offensive guard and Alabama commitment from Central High in Tuscaloosa.

Payne and Cotton provided the best one-on-one match-ups during the event. Cotton was named the top offensive lineman MVP, and Payne the top defensive lineman MVP. Cotton, Payne and Carr earned invites to the Rivals Five-star Challenge in Baltimore. "I am excited," Cotton said after his performance. "This is a dream come true. When I was young watching my elders play I just wanted to do whatever it took to make myself better."

Kerryon Johnson did not participate in the camp. The Under Armour All-American has a good chance to receive an invite to the Rivals Five-Star Challenge at a later date with more invitations extended after the Rivals Camp Series concludes. He spoke of his visit to Tuscaloosa on Saturday for the Tide's first spring practice.

"It was a great trip," he said. "It was my first time ever seeing them practice. It was really good to talk to Coach Kiffin and see the kind of offense and energy he is bringing to the team. He's a bright-minded person. He's an innovator. He showed me some things he did at USC with Marquise Lee and Reggie Bush. He showed me the things he could do with me if I were to come there. He really put some things in my mind about how they can use me in the offense."

Alabama has offered a few other of the top performers at the Rivals Camp including linebacker MVP Darrell Williams, four-star from Hoover, and running back MVP Nick Gibson, four-star from Pinson Valley.

Williams is high on the in-state program. He grew up an Alabama fan, but says it will not play a factor in his decision. He lists Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Mississippi State and Tennessee as his top five schools. Gibson has a top three consisting of Alabama, Mississippi State and Tennessee.

"I like the coaches, facilities, how their program works, and their system," Gibson told Rivals.com of his interest in the Tide. "It's also close to home."

Alabama welcomed a few other prospects on campus this past weekend including Jalen Thompson, three-star cornerback from St. Paul's Episcopal, Natrez Patrick, four-star defensive end from Mays High in Atlanta, and Arden Key, four-star defensive end from King High in Lithonia, Ga.

Alabama commitments Mekhi Brown, Rivals100 defensive end from Carver High in Columbus, Ga., and Jonathan Ledbetter, Rivals100 defensive end from Tucker High in Atlanta, were also on campus.